Tales From Neverland
by AsherAnd
Summary: A series of One-Shots and Drabbles set before the time of the Truest Believer. Rating subject to change. NOT CHRONOLOGICAL.
1. Mind Games

"Stop it."

She turns around and gives him _the look_. The look she gives when she's feigning total innocence but she knows she's being naughty. That look she gives when she wants him to tell her exactly what she's doing. He closes his eyes and looks away from her, intent on being the mature one in this situation. He will not let her drag him down with her again.

"Damn it, Tiger, stop." He's trying to be firm, but his voice comes out as more of a plea. He's trying to be a gentleman. He's trying to be polite. Hell, he's even trying to be _nice, _but she's testing him. He doesn't appreciate it. He risks a glance upward and immediately regrets it. She's smirking. The bitch is actually smirking at him. His eyes narrow and he resists the urge to run her through. She actually managed to find his weakness, and he knows she'll use it against him. Felix glares and curses under his breath, swearing oaths he half-intends on carrying out. Only half-intends. If Pan ever found out what his lieutenant had done to his pet, they'd both be dead in a mater of seconds. As it was she wasn't suppose to be out of her 'owner's tent. God, what had he gotten himself into?

She walks by again and he digs his nails into his leg, the thin fabric doing little to shield him. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen her with minim clothing on before. Hell, she and her whole tribe ran around stark naked during the night. They were Selkies, after all. Nudity never had been a big deal in Neverland, but there hadn't ever been women either. And this one, despite her violent tendencies, mood swings and inherent hatred for him was, for some unknown, God-forsaken reason _flouncing_ right in front of him. Over and over and fucking over.

"Tiger, I swear to God." He'd intended a growl, but it had come out as a groan. She wasn't doing anything outright malicious. Just chores. Just average, everyday chores he'd seen the Lost Boys do a thousand times. He'd tried to console himself with that knowledge, but she wasn't just _doing chores. _She was arching her back when she bent over and swaying her hips as she ferried water back and forth between the river and the camp. Dropping things and bending over slowly so he could see her. This was torment he didn't deserve. Peter had nearly ripped his head off for leading the girl along by her wrist when she wouldn't come when called, and now she was testing him. Trying to see what he loved more: Pan, or self-gratification. He would not fail. His dedication to his leader was extreme, more than strong enough to stand up against this girl's pathetic attempts at seduction. She was ridiculous really. Not even attractive...Not...Even...

How Felix had gotten up from his seat on the stump, across the small clearing and in front of Tiger so fast, he'd never know but he was hunched over, his mouth over hers, working in earnest. There was nothing gentle about the meeting of their mouths. He'd taken control immediately and forced his tongue into her mouth. Where he'd learned to kiss on an island full of boys was a mystery, but he did, and it was domineering. She tries to move her mouth, but he's got a grip on her chin and holds her firm. His point would get across. He pulls away finally, panting and looks down into her eyes, wide with shock and mild fear. He straightens back to his full height and wipes is mouth. "I win." He mutters, not even bothering to look back at her as he picks up his axe and returns to guard duty.


	2. Classification

There were four classes of aquatic semi-humans present in the waters around Neverland. They were all distinct, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Their habitats varied, as did their diets and personaliies. They were different. Unmistakably so. So why Pan insisted on referring to her as an 'Overgrown Fish' when she was clearly a Selkie was beyond her. She'd explained it dozens of times to him, but he refused to understand. There were Sirens, beautiful women covered in scales and feathers who sang sailors to their demise, forcing them to crash their ships on jagged rocks. There were the Nokken, their male counterparts who'd lured many a young mermaid to the shadows of their caves and drowned them. There were the Merpeople, shallow, dull creatures who held little room in their heads for anything save their vanity and intense hatred of humanity. And then there were the Selkies. Her people. They were a noble race, and the only ones capable of physically changing their form. They were better. _She_ was better. She...

She was bound to land.

For all of the novelty that came with stepping out of her skin and walking on the land, if she couldn't find her seal skin, she was stuck. The water would reject her as one of the land dwellers and she would not be able to return home. She hadn't been able to go home for some time now. Still, she held out hope. One day, Pan would become lax around her and let slip the location of her skin. One day, she'd don it once more and leap into the embrace of the waves. One day she'd return home triumphant, the Demon and the Scarred One and their Hounds far behind her. That day was not today. Today, she was just the Pied Piper's toy Tiger. Today she was whatever her owner wanted her to be.

And what was she really? Certainly no longer a Selkie, she'd been without her skin too long. Without her seal skin she had no right to call herself a Selkie. But she wasn't a human, either. No. She'd spent to much time below the waves for that. Seen too much. She was an inbetween. A half-breed. One of the mongrels she and her podmates had chased around as cubs, those unfortunate creatures who'd been born of two worlds. She was the same now. As Tiger stared up at the stars, lost in her mind, she felt someone take a seat beside her. It was likely Peter. He was the only one who spoke her language, and she couldn't be bothered to learn his.

"What are you looking so pensive for? You should be dancing with the others." The drawl was unmistakable.

"Pan, what am I?" He snorted and rose, walking away. Tiger's expression turned sour. He always mocked problems unless they were his own.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tiger." She frowned in confusion, not quite sure what he meant. If he was playing a game, she was going to roll over and go to sleep. She was in no mood for games. The boy looked over his shoulder, seemingly bothered that she hadn't read his mind. "Isn't it obvious? You're lost. " He turned round and continued walking. "We all are."


	3. Trapped

When Pan entered his tent he found Tiger on her knees digging through his trunk. He waited for awhile, silent. Whatever she was doing, it was urgent and he wasn't supposed to know. She was tossing out old trinkets and gold coins like they were nothing, so she wasn't interested in robbing him. Not that she'd know anything valuable if she saw it. Pearls and gold were just rocks to her. Stones that glittered when the light hit them, but were essentially useless. He knew she wasn't searching for information on him. She hated him, and the only reason she'd seek more knowledge was to coordinate his demise. As she neared the bottom he cleared his throat and entered, arms crossed over his chest. "What _are_ you doing?" Green eyes snapped upward, focused on him and narrowed. Tiger rose slowly and walked further into the room, picking things up that she'd thrown away in her haste. She wasn't going to speak to him. She never did, even when he spoke to her in her own language. Pan gave a dry laugh and plopped down on his -technically their- cot. "You were looking for it again, weren't you?" She stopped, and he knew he had her. "Oh, the poor little fish misses the sea..." He sat up and watched her as she tried to regain her composure. "You're never going to find it. You know that, right?" When she made no movement, he pushed his taunt farther. "Did it ever occur to you that on that first night, when Felix brought you to me, that I had him _burn it_?"

For a girl, she moved surprisingly fast. She was on top of him in a moment, her hands around his throat, nails digging in to his skin. He can see in her eyes, for just a split second, the rage of the open sea, the anger that's been held back for so long, and then in another beat it's gone, and she's away from him, confused but no less angry. He sits up, rubbing a his throat, miffed. He's ready when she runs at him again, grabbing her hands and flipping her onto her side. She screeches and kicks at him, spitting and cursing in her native language, but he doesn't release her. Pan wraps his arms around her and forces her to lean against him, comforting her the way he used to the first Lost Boys when they'd cry for their mothers. She claws at him, and punches, and kicks in ways he's sure will leave bruises. "You've damned me!" She wails over and over. "You've damned me!"Pan rocks her back and forth, shushing her and wiping her tears.

"They wouldn't have taken you back anyway." He murmured. "Not after you've spent so much time here. You're practically human." Tiger's mind and heart were broken and she was likely lost somewhere inside herself. "You're a Lost Girl, Tiger." He kissed her forehead and lay her down beside him, tucking her in. She surrendered to sleep easily, to empty to fight. She might never recover, but he didn't care. She would stop running and surrender to the thought that she was trapped in Neverland with him, forever. She would embrace it and accept it. She would be happy and she would hear the flute play. She would never leave this place, if he had his way and Peter always got his way.


	4. Best Friend

Pan did not have friends. He was too..._advanced _for such a notion as friendship. He had enemies and underlings, but no friends. He supposed at one point he would have called the Lost Boys his friends but now after knowing them all for at least fifty years, he could say without any hesitation that they were all sniveling cowards of the worst kind. Well, not all. That wasn't fair ad Pan was supposed to be immanently fair. Felix was loyal to a point. He'd still tell him no if he needed to hear it, but that was very rare. His second-in-command knew secrets that others would kill to get their hands on. He was trusted more than the others, more than Tiger, who, despite her apathy, he knew would kill him if given the opportunity. Felix had been the first one he'd found. He'd survived the elements, attacks by the creatures around the island and still somehow managed to crawl out of it all unscathed mentally. He was strong, and Pan respected that. Friends knew everything about each other. They held each other's secrets. Felix certainly knew nearly everything about him, while he knew everything about the scarred boy. He'd helped him bury a few bodies in the Dark Hollow. He held up morale in the Lost Boys and made sure none of them were foolish enough to follow in Baelfire's footsteps. At the end of everything he knew that Tiger would leave him, the Lost Boys would go home to their families and magic could be destroyed, but Felix would stay by his side.

And that was why he had to die.

Pan didn't love. He obsessed over and took control of. The strongest emotions he felt toward anyone were respect and outright disgust, and he despised no one more than he respected Felix. Loyalty was love without the nonsense of feelings poured in, wasn't it? Loyalty had kept him alive for centuries and protected him in his most dangerous hour and had protected his Tiger from pirates. Loyalty had helped him steal and enchant and lead children away from their homes for years. Loyalty had kept _the _secret and still followed him after. The spell required the heart of the thing the caster loved most, and there was no doubt in his mind who that would be. For his years of endless service, his lieutenant would be put to rest among the trees of his own world at last. He would at least ensure that he wasn't just left to rot. A preservation sell would do the trick. That knowledge he could console himself with. He wouldn't be killing his best friend, just putting him to sleep in his own world.


	5. True Name

She crawls into bed sometimes with him, when she can't deal with Peter. She tugs at his clothes until he wakes up and gives her what she needs. Nothing ever happens between them, she just comes in and wakes him up so he can make room for her. They don't speak and they don't need to. He understands her perfectly, and she him. One night he wakes up and finds her tracing the scars on his face, the ones she put there, and crying. He just wipes away her tears and murmurs for her to go back to sleep. There was one time she came in, however, where something was different.

She'd been out with Peter hunting for food. Magic was running low, and the simple days of just imagining something edible were long gone. They'd come back with only six fish for their trouble, and arguing. Well, arguing as much as one could with a self-made mute. She'd apparently indicated she could have caught an entire boat full if she'd just been given her skin. Pan had refused to give it back. He'd been in his tent trying to fall asleep, but Pan's voice prevented him from reaching any semblance of unconsciousness. Tiger had entered about an hour after the noise died down and crawled into bed with him. He lifted his arm and draped it over her waist as she buried her head in his chest, her hands clutching at the fabric of his shirt. They lay like that for nearly twenty minutes before she spoke.

"I love you." Her voice was quiet, small, not at all like he'd expected it to sound. Her own language made her voice sound harsh, but now that she was speaking his, he could hear the melody. There was an air of finality about her words that let him know that she wasn't expecting a reply. Still, he wasn't surprised. She'd merely been brave enough to put in words whatever this was they had. Or whatever she though it was. Felix wasn't sure what this emotion was inside of him, but it wasn't love. Not that he'd know. The only person he'd ever truly loved was Peter, but he was a brother more than anything. He didn't open his eyes or make any sort of movement to reassure her.

"Go to sleep, Tiger."

"Mael-khamne." She replied. "My name is Mael-khamne."Silence fell and she turned her back toward him, apparently ending their conversation. Her eyes were closed and her breathing slowed but it wasn't until Felix was sure that she was asleep that he dared whisper:

"James."


	6. Of Skin and Secrets

The one who owned her skin owned her.

That was the law, and that was the magic written deep within her people. If a human held the skin, they too held the selkie who it belonged to. For male selkies that meant nothing, really. hey could come and go on land as they pleased, so long as they bedded their wives once every moon cycle. But for the females, they had to stay by their owner's side. Clean for him, cook for him, bear him children, warm his bed. Failure to do so would result in eventual death.

Tiger was sick.

She'd never been told which of the boys had taken her skin first. She belonged to whoever had discovered it that day at the beach and she longed for him. She needed to be beside him, to care for him, and her failure to do so was slowly killing her. At first she'd thought it was Rufio. She'd thought she'd felt something for him, felt the ocean pulling her toward him. It turned out that he was a half-blood. His father had been of her kind and she'd just felt something of her home in him. Then it had been Slightly with his too-long legs and quiet intelligence. He too had proven to be a dead end. Day by day she'd broken down who'd been on the hunt the day she was captured and had narrowed it down to one person: Felix.

She didn't want to be with him. He hated her, that much she knew, but she had no other choice. It was union or death and she wanted to live to see her family once more. He went to the lagoon late at night. She'd heard him walking there to bathe. His route took him directly past Peter's room and she knew she could track him easily. It took her three nights to work up the courage to follow after him, and when she finally did, she was almost twenty minutes behind him.

The path to the lagoon was well worn from centuries of lost boys. It was the only sheltered water source on the entire island and despite the time of year, it was always steaming. It was close to the volcanoes base and could always be counted on to be warm. Tiger shivered as she made her way down the last bend and hid behind a tree. She could seem him amidst the steam, hair slicked back, standing in the middle of the pool. She contemplated turning back, but the pull toward him was nearly too strong for her to resist. She padded toward him on silent feet, stopping at the edge of the water only to remove the over-sized shirt and ripped breeches she'd been given to wear. The water called to her, but she forced herself to move slowly. She didn't want him to hear her and reject her before she'd had time to make her case.

Tiger stopped and swooned, nearly falling over. She needed...she needed...

_Him._

He'd exited the pool at some point and scooped her up, arms never shaking. He bore her all the way back to camp and put her down on his palette. She refused to let go of his neck, and he was pulled down beside her, arms still tucked around his back. Tiger had found him. She knew he had her skin beyond a shadow of a doubt now. He'd never been this close to her before and she took the chance to breath him in. He smelled like rain and the pine trees the younger boys liked to climb. Her eyes drifted shut and she mellowed. This would have to do for now. As stiff and uncomfortable as he was, he'd still let her in. She felt the sickness take its leave and she slept.


End file.
